Bob Geldof is convinced he invented the concept of reality TV – because his media company pioneered hit show Survivor.
The former Boomtown Rats rocker formed television company Planet 24 in 1992, and the firm produced The Big Breakfast – an early morning magazine show based in a real house – and developed the original concept for Survivor.
And he’s convinced the shows became the blueprint for Big Brother, the program widely credited with creating the reality TV genre.
Asked by Q magazine if he “invented” the format, Geldof replies, “Yeah, no question. Big Brother was essentially The Big Breakfast meets Survivor. It was a show that put people under onerous conditions inside a wired house. And the guy who was supposed to sell our formats at the time left to join Endemol. Two months later, they launched Big Brother.”
